Last night six of us met to do some good in the darkening and slightly damp September evening. And that's what GoodGym is all about - we spread a little joy and the autumn and winter months are a great time to stick with it - as the evenings get darker it makes a difference to meet up with friends and get active each week! This evening we had task to move lots of wood from the middle of the playground to the edges to allow children space to play. It was almost smooth sailing with some dramatic screams from us city folk about the gigantic spiders we unearthed.
We harvested some grapes and some radishes (thank you St Alfege's! I'm going to enjoy nice salad for lunch).

Special welcome to Carolin on her first GoodGym good deed - it's great to have you in the group and we hope to see much more of you!

We parted ways as the rain got heavier, me spotting the 386 and losing any street cred I thought I had running down the road with two giant and alarmingly bulbous radishes. And I didn't make the bus either so ended up running all the way home looking like I'd robbed a community garden.

On Saturday we're back at Hervey Road for some gardening and next Wednesday we're at St Luke's.

Until next time!

Rachel 👋🏻

A bright morning saw us back at St Alfege’s Primary School for some much-needed weeding to help keep the veg beds free from weeds and clear more space for planting.

We were delighted to welcome Philip and Vinita to their very first GoodGym good deeds – a fantastic start to their journey with us. They both got stuck in straight away, bringing plenty of energy and enthusiasm to the task!

Special mention goes to Arthur, who we appointed Chief Worm Hunter. He threw himself into the role with gusto, uncovering worm after worm and providing some very dedicated worm-related entertainment while the weeding continued.

Vinita not only pulled up weeds but also took the lead on capturing the session, snapping photos and putting together a brilliant Instagram video to share our efforts. A great way to kick things off on her GoodGym journey!

With weeds tackled, worms relocated, and smiles all around, it was another great GoodGym session of teamwork, community, and a warm welcome for new friends.

Until next time!

Rachel

8 Greenwich GoodGymers made their way to St Alfege Primary School Community Garden in Greenwich this evening.

Our task was simple: clearing as many weeds as possible... Our main target was the raised beds, which since our last visit have been planted with crops including beetroot and some impressively large radishes. The makings of some great salad there! So keeping the weeds from taking over in these areas is key.

We also made a start on clearing a larger area of overgrowth which required a bit more digging and getting to the root of the matter. We were very impressed by the gardens grapevines, beautifully draping over a pergola area, the perfect spot for a group photo.

(Mean)time got away with us, and it was time for a quick water for the plants and a little post-session social for us, where conversation was slightly overwhelmed by the bells of St Alfege Chuch. Weeding bells indeed.

Welcome back to Olga for her second group run with us!

Next week we're back at the Prince Philip Maritime Museum - see you then!

What a glorious evening to be newt and aboot with GoodGym Greenwich! With 13 of us gathered and the sun shining brightly, we set off on a scenic run through beautiful Greenwich Park, with Marta managing to sneak in the final part of her interval training en route!

A happy welcome back to Jia for her second good geed with us!

Our destination was the lovely garden of St Alfege’s Primary School, where we were met with a list of garden tasks organised by Amanda the Headteacher who popped in to say hello! Between us, we:

🌱 Weeded garden beds and turned over the soil

🛶 Emptied out a boat planter and refilled it with fresh soil

🌳 Replanted a tree

🛞 Emptied and weeded tyre planters, topping them up with fresh compost

📦 Cleared out and organised some storage crates

But, you ask - what's with title of the report? Well, we also found a newt who was very sweet. Ivar may have wanted to adopt him but settled for popping him back in the pond area. One of the cuter amphibians in my opinion and a lovely surprise this evening.

Anyway, with such a great team, the jobs were done in no time and after a group pic we enjoyed a little river run back to base before parting ways for the evening, with that satisfying post-good-deed glow.

St Alfege’s is starting a monthly community gardening session, so keep an eye out for more tasks coming soon as the school transforms this space for wider community use!

Coming up next...

🎉 This Saturday we’re helping set up and close down at the Beats, Boards, and BBQ event in Charlton Park and we have gardening at Hervey Road

🏃‍♀️ Next Wednesday we’ll be meeting at Charlton House for a group run to Brooklands School for more garden work!

Until next time, wonderful people! 👋

Rachel